Kim Foxx, Former Assistant State’s Attorney, Juvenile Justice Division, and Former Chief of Staff to President of Cook County Board, Toni Preckwinkle

Hon. Ann M. Burke (moderator), Illinois Supreme Court Justice

Cosponsored by The Catholic Lawyers Guild of Chicago and The John Howard Association

Criminal punishment in America has become harsh and degrading–more so than any other western democracy. Executions and long prison terms are commonplace in America. Countries like France and Germany, by contrast, are systematically mild. European offenders are rarely sent to prison, and when they are, they serve far shorter terms than their American counterparts. Why is America so comparatively harsh? The answer lies in America’s triumphant embrace of a non-hierarchical social system and distrust of state power which have contributed to a law of punishment that is more willing to degrade offenders.

The panelists will discuss how Professor Whitman’s comparison of the European and American systems might highlight and uncover aspects of the criminal justice system in Cook County and Illinois that could be improved.